Wire-stretcher.



E. D. JONES.

WIRE STRETGHER.

APPLIOATION FILED JULY 28, 1909.

1,030,588. Patented Junej25, 1912.

Witnesses h In ventar alg COLUMBIA PLANDGRAP 1 CO \VASI'HNQTON n TINITED @TATES PATENT QFFICE.

ELIJ'AI-I D. JONES, OF NEAR VALENCIA, KANSAS.

WIRE-STRETCI-IER.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ELIJAI-I D. Jones, a citizen of the United States, residing near Valencia, in, the county of Shawnee and State of Kansas, have invented new and useful Improvements in WVire-Stretchers, of

which the following is a specification.

My invention is a device for stretching not only single strands of wire but also double strands and wire fences of all kinds,

The object of my invention is to stretch the wire, wires, or fence wire, tight, with a minimum of effort and a maximum of efliciency.

To this end it comprises a simple and efficient clamp, a simple and efficient arrangement of the clamp and power device whereby bot-h clamp and power device are on that side of the fence-post opposite to that from which the wire is being stretched so as to enable the operators to secure the wires to the fence while taut, and a special simple and efiicient power device.

It also consists of the parts, improve ments, and combinations hereinafter set forth.

In the drawings accompanying and forming part of this specification, and in the description of the drawings, I have shown my invention in its preferred form, and have shown what I deem to be the best mode of applying the principles thereof; but it is to be understood that, within the scope of the appended claim, I contemplate changes in form, proportions, and materials, the transposition of parts, and the substitution of equivalent members, without departing from the spirit of my invention.

Figure 1 is an elevation of my invention, complete and set up in the operation of stretching a wire fence. Fig. 2 is a sectional elevation of the power device taken on aplane indicated by the line 3 of Fig. 3. Fig. 3 is a front view of the power device, the lever being cut away on the line 4 of Fig. 2, and the chain being removed.

Similar reference characters indicate like or corresponding parts throughout the several views.

7 represents a fence-post, which ordinarily would be the corner-post, and 8 is the brace.

9 represents the fence wire, secured to a distant post not here shown.

10 is a bar or rod faced on one side with a metal plate 11, and having secured thereto a Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed July 28, 1909.

Patented June 25, 1912. Serial No. 510,140.

gas-pipe, which fits in between the faceplate and the brackets; and the wire is secured in the clamp by first laying it on the faceplate and then inserting the rod between the faceplate and wire and the brackets. A slight tap will make the rod set, and thereafter the pulling on the chain will draw the rod tightly against the wire which will thereby be firmly clamped; and obviously, the harder the pull, the firmer will be the grip of the clamp on the wire, making it impossible to pull the wire out of the clamp by a straight away pull. To release the wire from the clamp, it is only necessary to slacken the chain, and if the rod sticks, a slight tap with a hammer will readily loosen it so it will fall out. The hooks are preferably of the form shown, as the clamp may in this form be applied to fence wire of even a very small mesh by merely passing the hooks through the meshes.

To pull the chain, I use the power device, represented by the numeral 18, located on that side of the post opposite to the fence and in a straight line with the line of the fence. Thus, I set up a standard 19, which may be a piece of ordinary gas-pipe, and hold it temporarily in erect position by means of the two guy-ropes 20, 20, and secure the power device thereto by means of a loop 22 and an adjustable clamp 21, permitting the power device to be clamped at any suitable height above the ground to the standard so as to givea straight and level pull on the chain. On the power device are two round. lugs 23, 28, which may be engaged by one end of the gas-pipes or brace rods 24, 24, respectively, the other ends of these brace rods being made to abut against the post 7. And these parts are so arranged that the clamp is between the fence-post and the power-device, which not only clears the power device and the clamp from the braces of the fence-post, but is also a good way of making it possible to staple or otherwise secure the wire to the braced post while the wire is 'drawn taut by the stretcher,

The power device has the tw g) side plates 25, 25, which may be reinforced by the sidebars 26, 26, and properly spaced apart by means of the lugs 27, 27 and suitably bolted together.

28 is a grooved wheel rotatably mounted on a bolt or axle 29 between the side-plates. Adjacent to the wheel 28, and pivoted on a rod or bolt 30 is a retaining pawl 31 provided with a tail-piece or handle 32, and which serves in conjunction with the grooved wheel 28 to prevent the chain 15 from pulling backward when the pawl is in normal closed position, with its nose against the wheel, as indicated in the full outlines of Figs. 2 and 3. The pawl, by reason of its pivotal mounting, however, will permit the chain to be pulled forward, and, by

pressing back the tail-piece or handle, as indicated by the dotted outline 32, the chain will be free to be drawn backward. Just forward of the first wheel and retaining pawl is another grooved wheel 33 mounted on an axle or bolt 34 and adapted to oscillate thereon. This wheel is provided with two oppositely disposed chain-clamping lugs 35, 35, which permit the vertical link to be inserted between them and hold the chain by reason of the preceding horizontal link not being permitted to pass between them, as indicated in the drawings. Secured on each side of this wheel are the arms 36, 36, which may be secured by a bolt or rivet 37, and these arms are continued as a long lever 38, but with enough space above the lugs to lift the chain and free it from the lugs so as to draw it either forward or backward.

The parts being in the positions shown in Fig. 3, a downward stroke of the lever will ull the chain forward between the first wheel and the pawl, say a distance of two ful leverage is secured, so that the wire may be drawn astight as may be desired, or even to the breaking of the wire, and all by little effort on the part of the operator. If it be desired to draw the chain through .the power device by hand, as in originally applying the wire-stretcher to its work, then the lever may be turned back and press against the pawl and open it, as indicated by the dotted outline 38; which places the parts in such position that thechain may be drawn freely therethrough in both directions.

The cross-bar 14 may be provided wit-l1 a number of extra holes 50, 50, so that the chain may be secured thereto either higher or lower than the exact center, in order that the clamp may be applied to various widths offence wire and yet bring the lowest strands down against the ground.

WVhat I claim is:

In a wire stretcher, the combination of a frame, a wheel mounted therein having a smooth peripheral groove, a chain passing over said wheel in the groove, a pawl pivoted in the frame adjacent to said wheel, having a tail-piece and adapted to bear against the chain upon the wheel and to cooperate with the wheel in holding the chain against rearward movement, another wheel pivoted in the frame in advance of the firstnamed wheel, having a smooth peripheral groove and formed with two shoulders on opposite sides of the groove to engage the links of the chain in said groove, and a lever, rigidly secured to the sides of the second-named wheel, positioned between the wheel pivots and provided with an opening above said shoulders to permit the free passage of the chain therethrough, said shoulders being between the wheel pivots and the handle of said lever, said wheel and lever being capable of an oscillating motion to pull the chain forward, and said lever being adapted on extreme rearward movement to move said tail-piece and release said pawl from the chain and to bring said shoulders to a rear'wardly slanting position.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my name in the presence of witnesses.

. ELIJAH D. JONES. Witnesses:

H. W'. EULER, C. J. RosEN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. 0. 

